Date: April 7, 2025 

Case #: 2025-00019404 

Incident: Bend woman sets home on fire

Date / Time of Incident: April 6, 2025 / 1:35 a.m.  

Location: 19900 block of Waterfall Lane, Bend  

Arrested: Wendi Thornton, 65-year-old Bend resident 

Offenses: Arson I, Animal Abuse I x2 

At approximately 1:35 a.m. on Sunday, April 6, Bend Police responded to a report of a home on fire on Waterfall Lane in the Romaine Village area.

When officers arrived, they found the home’s two occupants and a dog outside the residence. An investigation determined that one of the home’s occupants, 65-year-old Wendi Thornton, had deliberately started a fire in the kitchen. The home’s other occupant called 911 to report the blaze. Two cats died in the fire.  

Bend Police took Thornton into custody and transported her to St. Charles Bend for evaluation. Upon release from St. Charles, Thornton will be booked into the Deschutes County Jail on suspicion of first-degree arson and two counts of first-degree animal abuse.  

This incident remains under investigation.  

Date: March 20, 2025 

Case #: 2025-00015598 

Incident: Bend man arrested after stealing vehicle, driving erratically through Bend 

Date / Time of Incident: March 19, 2025 / 7:04 a.m.  

Arrested: Christopher Charles Edward Peterson, 26-year-old Bend resident 

Offenses: Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Criminal Mischief I x2, Reckless Driving, Theft III, Warrant 

At approximately 7:04 a.m. on Wednesday, March 19, Bend Police responded to a report of a stolen vehicle at the Riverhouse Lodge on North U.S. Highway 97. The owner reported that he had been warming up his gray Mazda CX5 when a man got into the car and drove away.  

As officers were investigating, the vehicle passed an officer southbound on SE Third Street at approximately 90 to 100 MPH. Multiple Bend Police officers, as well as deputies from the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and troopers from the Oregon State Police, responded to the call. The suspect, later identified as 26-year-old Bend resident Christopher Peterson, drove the vehicle southbound in the northbound lanes of Highway 97, through the Old Back Nine golf course and through the Caldera High School parking lot before school was in session. Bend Police advised the school, which was briefly placed in secure.  

Bend Police did not pursue the vehicle, instead setting up throughout the area to attempt a stop. 

At the SE 15th Street and Reed Market Road roundabout, deputies successfully executed a spike strip, which flattened the vehicle’s tires. Peterson ultimately drove onto Ventura Place, a cul-de-sac, and officers pinned the vehicle in place.  

Peterson was taken into custody at approximately 7:43 a.m. He had a felony warrant and was arrested on suspicion of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, two counts of first-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and third-degree theft. He was lodged at the Deschutes County Jail.